The High Court in its Grounds of Judgment dated 20 June 2018 in Abdul Rahman bin Ismail v Pembangunan Qualicare Sdn Bhd (Penang High Court Winding Up Petition No. 28-6-01/2013) made an interesting observation when there are competing nominees to be appointed as liquidator in a court winding up.

The High Court raised the possibility of a need for a mini trial in order to test the suitability of the two competing liquidator nominees. Continue reading →

Almost five years after the first draft rules to introduce the “group practice” model to Malaysian law firms, the Legal Profession (Group Law Practice) Rules 2018 (“GLP Rules”) have been gazetted, and will be coming into operation on 30 June 2018. The GLP Rules are available here.

The group practice model — which allows law firms to band together in a larger set-up and share resources while retaining the separate firm identities — has the potential to greatly benefit smaller law firms in particular.

Unfortunately, the GLP Rules that have been finalised and put forward by the Bar Council are flawed, and this will very likely result in the interest in, and benefits from, the group practice model being severely limited.

Ng Jern-Fei QC is a Malaysian and an English barrister and who was recently made Queen’s Counsel in February 2018. On 18 June 2018, Jern-Fei was very kind to speak at an interview session hosted by the Asian International Arbitration Centre. The session was titled ‘Defying Expectations: Thoughts on life as a barrister and the opportunities and challenges at the Bar.’ Some of the areas covered his motivations to practice at the English Bar, his successes and failures, and the skills needed to be an advocate.

It was a very interactive interview event with the interviewers Tatiana Polevshchikova (Senior Case Counsel, AIAC) and Crystal Wong (Senior Associate, Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill). There were also a lot of questions from the floor, with the majority of attendees drawn from young lawyers, law graduates and law students.

It was an inspirational session. Jern-Fei was very generous in sharing his knowledge and experience. I have had the privilege to have worked with Jern-Fei on several matters over the years. He is a role model for many lawyers and Malaysians out there.

Set out below are excerpts I took from the session. Any misquotes or inaccuracies are mine alone. Continue reading →

A master craftsman would have essential tools for his trade. Likewise, a corporate litigator would have with him the essential text of Dato’ Loh Siew Cheang’s Corporate Powers Accountability.

Loh’s seminal text saw its second edition published in 2002. Sixteen years later, I looked forward to reading a copy of the third edition which was published in May 2018. I received a review copy of the book thanks to LexisNexis’ collaboration with The Malaysian Lawyer. I am extremely grateful to the publishers for extending me a copy of this book and the book will immediately find its place on my bookshelf.

I set out five tips on how I regularly check the Bursa Malaysia (stock exchange) Company Announcements page to gain legal and commercial awareness. This note is based on an email I sent out to my team members.